$44m funding has unlocked Star Citizen: Stellar Cartography Room

Roberts Space Industries has announced, in a letter to the community, that Star Citizen has surpassed yet another milestone in its crowdfunding project. It has broken through the $44 million funding level.

Although still nearly a year away from the full launch of Star Citizen, the campaign managed to mount up an additional $1 million in less than a month. Those who pledged before the $44 million target was achieved will receive a bonus room, added to their hangars, when the modular room system launches.

Dogfighting mode availability nears

Chris Roberts also stated that the developers are hard at work on the Arena Commander dogfighting mode, in order to deliver the small, multiplayer-focused piece of the game on 29 May. "Getting to dogfight in deep space is going to make Star Citizen real for a lot of people," Roberts said. "But I also know that everyone who has supported us to this point already understands. Thank you for getting us here!"

The team has come up with a new concept called the "negotiation room," a place where traders can invite others into their ships and make deals. Roberts wants to take Star Citizen beyond dogfighting and is investigating how to make systems such as cargo and trading as realistic as possible. Efforts towards realising this include measuring ship interiors, figuring how cargos will be loaded and unloaded and building a cargo container measurement system.

A new Stellar Cartography feature was also explained in the letter, which is a facility found in the bonus room we mentioned above. The room is said to be "Star Citizen's dedicated 'map room' featuring a 3D holographic representation of the known universe," and will act like a digital diary which expands as the player explores new worlds.

Furthermore Roberts Space Industries has promised yet another new feature if the funding pool hits $46M. Backers are promised an updated scanning software suite which will provide information on where resources in the Star Citizen universe can be gathered.

Players can also now vote on what reward goal they'd like to receive after that, with the choice of three options being a role-specific outfit, an engine tuning kit, or a space plant. You can now cast your vote via the Star Citizen blog.